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NEW YORK. May 15, 2013: Azerbaijani parliament's approval to extend criminal defamation laws to include Internet speech is a serious setback for press freedom in a country that severely curtails free expression already, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ calls on President Ilham Aliyev to veto the bill.

The local press reported that members of parliament voted to amend the criminal code to extend punishment for slander and insult--articles 147 and 148 of the code respectively--to the Internet. Those found guilty of slander can be sentenced to a fine of up to 500 Azeri manat (US$637); corrective labor of up to one year; or jail time of up to six months. Insult charges carry a fine of up to 1,000 Azeri manat (about US$1275); one year of corrective labor; or imprisonment of up to six months, the Baku-based news agency APA reported.

BAKU. May 10, 2013: An RFE/RL correspondent has been detained in Azerbaijan while reporting on a land dispute protest by villagers in the Imisli district near the border with Iran.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service correspondent Azer Eli was recording video of the villagers as they tried to herd about 150 of their cattle in front of the district governor's office.

The protesters say a pasture belonging to them was seized by residents of a nearby village.

BAKU. May 7, 2013: Today, First South Caucasus Forum started with the participation of high ranking governemnt officials from South Caucasus. The Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev made a speech at the forum focusing mainly on the unresolved Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the future of the occupied Azerbaijani territories in Mountainous Garabagh (Nagorno-Karabakh in Russian - ed.) and the surrounding regions. Ilham Aliyev described the conflict as a "major impediment" to regional development and integration. Aliyev said Azerbaijan wants to restore its territorial integrity and resolve the issue in accordance with international law. Ilham Aliyev also talked abouthis government's domestic policies claiming that he was carrying out the political reforms in that country and that the issues of democratization were a priority for his government.

BAKU. May 3, 2013: EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fuele says Azerbaijan must continue to meet its commitments on advancing democracy and human rights.

Speaking at the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy on May 3, Fuele expressed hope that Azerbaijan's October presidential election will be held fairly in accordance with Baku's commitments to the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Council of Europe.

SAN JOSE. May 3, 2013: The media freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has criticized Azerbaijan for not living up to its commitments to decriminalize defamation.

Dunja Mijatovic made the statement while attending events to mark World Press Freedom Day in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose.

Mijatovic said Baku pledged to decriminalize defamation in 2006 but that the government has recently proposed amendments that "go in the opposite direction."

By Joshua Kucera, Eurasianet.org

BAKU. May 2, 2013:Georgia is in discussions with Azerbaijan to jointly produce Su-25 close air support jets, Azerbaijani military sources have told the news agency APA:

Military sources told APA that Georgia plans to produce the modernized versions of SU-25 aircrafts at the Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing Company (TAM). Tbilisi has addressed Azerbaijan for financing the project and establishing joint production. The Azerbaijani military circles welcomed the proposal, but the government will make a final decision.

If the project is implemented, certain part of the aircrafts may be produced at the military plants of Azerbaijan.

By Shahin Abbasov, Eurasianet.org

BAKU. April 30, 2013: Democratization activists in Azerbaijan are increasingly pessimistic about what they describe as the West’s lack of support for reform and the protection of basic rights in the energy-rich South Caucasus country.

The soured mood follows a new wave of arrests of youth activists, the closure of the Western-funded Free Thought University, an alternative education center, and a scandal over offshore companies reportedly linked to President Ilham Aliyev’s family.

BAKU. April 25, 2013: Turan News Agency reports that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided to review the Azerbaijani political prisoner Ilgar Mammadov's case ahead of the normal schedule. On April 9, the ECHR began to communicate with Ilgar Mammadov's lawyers, putting his case on a fast track. Ilgar Mammadov's lawyer Fuad Agayev told Turan News Agency that ECHR submitted its questions to the Azerbaijani government and that the Azerbaijani government has to present its answers to ECHR by June 18.

Ilgar Mammadov is the leader of the opposition REAL Movement. He was expected to run for the president at the upcoming elections in October 2013. Mammadov was arrested in February when the police accused him of inciting violence among the local residents during Mammadov's visit to Ismayilli. The visit took place directly after the anti-government riots in Ismayilli and Ilgar Mammadov, together with another opposition figure Tofig Yagublu (also imprisoned under similar charges of inciting violence in the region), visited the region to meet with the people and address the problems which lead to the violent congfrontation of the local people with the Azerbaijani government.

BAKU. April 22, 2013: Elmar Mammadyarov has become Azerbaijan's first foreign minister to make an official visit to Israel.

On April 22, he met with Israeli President Shimon Peres on the first day of his four-day visit.

During the meeting, Shimon Peres said Azerbaijan has taken a "clear stand" against war and terrorism and is a "key country" in its region.

Azerbaijan shares a border with Israel's archrival, Iran.

By Shahin Abbasov and Molly Corso, Eurasianet.org

BAKU. April 18, 2013: Recent media and human-rights activist reports claim that the South Caucasus countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan are playing an indirect role in supplying diesel fuel, weapons and cash to the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Government employees deny the charges to EurasiaNet.org, but key details about the alleged shipments remain unclear.

A March 7 report by Human Rights First, a US-based non-profit organization that “works to identify and disrupt” Syrian government supply chains, named the two countries as among the “enablers” of al-Assad’s regime. Citing a Reuters article, the overview claimed that small vessels from Georgia have shipped diesel fuel to Syria. Based on a ProPublica investigation, it maintained that Azerbaijan also allows Russia to use its airspace for shipments of weapons and cash to the Syrian government.